Federalist Essays #10 & #51

Why Does the American Form of Government Work?

The American model of government is effective for many reasons. It has modified past forms of faulty governments to come up with a unique and strong-willed system. Its intrinsic qualities, derived from Enlightenment thinkers, including a three branched government, checks and balances, and guarantee of inalienable rights make it the durable and lasting government it has been since its indoctrination in 1788 all the way to the present day. Several Federalist Essays by James Madison examine and analyze the nature of the newly formed American government, and ultimately elaborate on how and why America’s new government is strong.

Federalist Essay #10 - The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection

“The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished; as they continue to be the favorite and fruitful topics from which the adversaries to liberty derive their most specious declamations. The valuable improvements made by the American constitutions on the popular models, both ancient and modern, cannot certainly be too much admired; but it would be an unwarrantable partiality, to contend that they have as effectually obviated the danger on this side, as was wished and expected.”

In this excerpt of James Madison’s tenth federalist essay, he references the “mortal diseases” that have caused popular governments of past nation-states to fall. He explains these as being “instability, injustice, and confusion” that have plagued governments. One reason the American government was successful and long lasting was its ability to learn from the mistakes of past forms of government and legislatures. Madison confirms this notion when he mentions “the valuable improvements made by the American constitutions on popular models.”

“There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects.

There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests.”

James Madison also focuses a great deal on factions, or political parties, and his opinion on their effects on a nation. He believes that they are motivated by their own self interest and can sometimes conflict with the public need. He thinks that the factions and their effects must be curbed, and deliberates this when he writes about “the two methods of curing mischiefs of faction.” The political parties of America, both liberal and conservative, were trademarks of the government during that age, whether or not they were actually beneficial to the public. Their existence proved how far the inalienable rights and liberties secured by the Constitution existed, thus showing the freedoms to be a crucial part to the working machine that was and is the American government.

Federalist Essay #51 - The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments

“In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.”

In this essay, James Madison focuses on the checks and balances between the three branches of government in America. Through this piece, he conveys one of the core reasons for why American government is effective: it is not a monarchy. He suggests the importance of separation of powers with checks when he elaborates on the exact distribution of power when given by the people to the government, stating “the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments” and then going a level further by talking about the “separate departments” the governments are broken down into. This is a unique facet of American government, and one that has proved to be effective for hundreds of years, as it still is in effect today, as it is in many other countries that have adopted American government styles.

“It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part.”

Here, Madison not only mentions the several departments the government is divided into, but also discusses the separation of power between the departments. He stresses the importance of checks and balances by using language such as “guard one part of society against the injustice of the other part.” Madison uses such strong dictation in order to indicate the gravity of his words. This stress is well placed, as this portion of the US government is an important one that sets it apart from the past failed models. When saying that it is important to “guard the society against the oppression of its rulers,” Madison sets America apart from the monarchy of Britain that oppressed its colonies for so many years. America’s independence and growth from a monarchical state is what led to its governmental strength.